Cologne. Malteser International has released 100,000 Euros for the first emergency aid measures in Nepal and Dr. Frank Marx – specialist in emergency medicine and member of the Malteser International advance team –landed in Kathmandu on Monday afternoon.

He reports: “The population are subject to some very poor conditions at the moment. Essential resources such as food, water and electricity are all scarce. Tents and emergency shelters are urgently needed because of the frequent rain. On top of that, medical supplies are running low.”

The task of aid workers on the ground is difficult. Many roads are impassable. Remote areas are only reachable by helicopter. The rain makes flying conditions difficult, and the task of getting aid where it is needed much harder. Up to now, damage to the airport in Kathmandu has limited the amount of supplies that can be delivered by air.

On Sunday, Malteser International released over half a ton of medication and medical supplies to the crisis zone: primarily anaesthetics, pain medication, surgical equipment, intravenous fluids, water purification tablets and disinfectants. The delivery is ready to move on the next available transport flight.

Malteser International has been working in Nepal since September 2012 on projects to reduce the risk of damage from catastrophic flooding, as well as improve the provision of basic water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in the country.

For editors: Ingo Radtke, General Secretary of Malteser International, is available for interviews. Please contact:

Tel: +49 171 310 5279

Email: petra.ipp(at)malteser-international(dot)org.

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